Overhead suspending mechanism for motor-driven tools.



PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

G. T. & E. E. WILT. OVERHEAD SUSPENDING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR DRIVEN TOOLS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.15, 1906.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES T. WILT AND ELMER E. WILT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO CHAS. T. WILT,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A FIRM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application filed August 15- 1906- Serial No. 330.703.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES T. WILT and ELMER E. WILT, citizens of the United States, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Overhead Sus ending Mechanism for Motor Driven Too s; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. I

This invention relates to improvements in overhead supporting devices for manually.

applied engine driven tools such as electrical or pneumatically driven drills, chippin hammers and other tools designed to be el to their Work by manual operation while driven from a suitable motor or engine. The invention relates to improvements in the holder which is so constructed and arranged that the engine and tool automatically assume a given or predetermined position with the tool directed away from the work and the holder is formed to provide a casing into which the tool is swung when it assumes its inoperative position, thereby protecting the operator from injury by contact with the tool in the event that the engine is not stopped or arrested.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the draWmgs:Figure 1 is a side elevationof the apparatus. 7 Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the engine and its holder, showing in dotted lines a changed position of the engine and its tool. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fi 2. Fig. 4 is a detail illustratin the pivota connection of the holder with the engine casing. Fig. 5 is a swivel connection of the holder with its suspending cable. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of one form of track for the tool supportin carriage, and illustrating the bearing wheel or the carriage. Fi 7 is a detail section, taken on line 77 of ig. 1. Fig. 8 is a detail section, taken on line 88 of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, A designates, as a whole,"an engine or motor for driving the tool and it may consist of an electrical or pneumatic motor.

B designates a tool consisting in the present instance of a dri which 1s fitted to a tudinally on the track chuck suitably connected with the driving shaft or rotor of the engine.

C designates, as a whole, the tool holder by which the tool and engine are directly suspended.

D designates an overhead crane orbracket from Which the tool and its holder are suspended; Said crane or bracket may be made of various forms and is movably mounted so as to increase the field or range of work of the tool. As herein shown, it com rises .a horizontal arm (1 from Whichthe too is suspended, a vertical member d and abrace (1 he said bracket is hinged to a suitable su port E, which may consist-of a post or tli wall of the building, so that it may be swung throughout a portion of a circle, it being in the present instance mounted to swing 180 degrees of a circle. To this end it is pivoted by means of trunnions d d at the upper and lower ends of the vertical member-thereof that has pivotal or rotative connection with studs e e projecting from the support E. The said engine and its holder are suspended from the horizontal arm of said crane'or bracket through the medium of a flexible cord or cable F which latter is suspended from a carriage G that is movably mounted in any suitable manner on the horizontal arm of the crane or bracket. Said carriage is supported and moves, in the present instance, on a rail H affixed to the under side of the horizontal arm of the crane or bracket. In the present instance; said engine and the tool are counterbalanced by a counterweight I that is suspended from the end of the cable F opposite that which is attach to the engine, and the cable is trained about suitable pulleys g g rotatively mounted in the carriage G. This arrangement permits the engine and tool to be raised and lowered with the exertion of little power to bring it to a desired working level and little or no lifting oWer is required to hold the tool to its wor The carria e G is movable longi- H of the horizontal arm of the crane thus permitting the suspended engine and tool to be accommodated to a wide range of work. In addition to the two movements of the engine and tool described, the range of movement is further amplified by reason of said parts being suspended on a crane or bracket which swings orizontally throughout a part of a circle in the manner described.

Referring now to the construction of the engine holder and the means of supporting the engine thereon, these parts are made as follows: The said holder comprises a yoke having two downwardly extending, laterally separated arms 0 c which are apertured at their lower ends to receive studs 0 extending laterally from op osite sides of the shell of the engine. In t 1e present instance, the engine is an electrical motor, and I have shown means for suspending the same whereby an ordinary electric motor, primarily designed to operate a fan or to perform other analogous work may be adapted for this use. To this end I may apply .to the casing of the engine a metal band A which, in the present instance, consists of a continuous piece that encircles the casing and is formed at its ends to provide lateral clamping lugs a a through apertures in which extends a clamping bolt a by which the bend is clamped in place on the ring. A ielding strip made of rubber or the like may e interposed between the band and engine casing. 1f the engine be primarily built for the pur 'ose herein described, said lugs may be cast ectly on the shell of the engine casing. The said yoke arms 0 c of the holder are brought to ether above the engine to form two paralle members 0? c which are joined by an integral curved art 0 at the top of the holder. The said ho der is suspended from the cable F by means of an eye C which may be attached in any suitable-manner to the upper closed parts 0 of the holder. Desira'bly said eye is connected with the upper part of the holder by a swivel joint, which ismore clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. The said swivel'joint, in the present instance, embraces a shank 0 extending down-- war-dly from the eye, through a suitable aperture in the upper closed end of the suspending member of the holder and is provided with upper and lower collars or flanges c a, respectively, to hold the same vertically in place. The construction is such that the v shank of said eye is free to rotate in its bearing thereby facilitating the turning movement of the holder and the engine about a vertical axis.

A feature of my invention is comprised in a holder of this character wherein the engine is so mounted that it assumes a position to swing the tool upwardly in a vertical position, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, when the handy of the operator is released from the handle A with which the enginecasing is equipped. That is-to say,

- said engine is so eccentrically loaded or overcular cross-section.

tecting the operator from accidentally ring-- ing his hand or other part of his body into contact with the tool. In this manner liability of serious accident is avoided in case the tool should continue its operation after the engine is released. A convenient construction and arrangement of such a protecting casing or housing is shown in the drawings and comprises, in combination with-the parallel members a c of the holder, guard members 0 c which extend inwardly toward each other from the opposite edges and a right angles to said members 0 Said guard members do not meet, thereby forming slots 0 a through which the tool may swing into the housing or casing when the engine is released from the manual control of the operator. It will thus be seen that the tool is brought to a position by reason of the overweight or eccentric loading of the engine in the holder, which minimizes liability of accident and that the operator is perfectly protected from accident by reason of the tool swinging into the casing or housing referred to. If desired but one side of the casing or housing may be so slotted, but in practice it will be preferable to slot both sides thereof.

A form of trackis herein provided which is recommended for various reasons of advantages which will a pear in the following description. The sai track which I have herein shown comprises a tubular member H which is provided in its lower side with a slot h, and the carriage G is provided with hangers g which extend upwardly through the slot of the tube into the interior thereof. Said hangers are provided within the tube with suitable bearings, preferably roller hearings, to facilitate the travel of the carriage along the rail. As herein shown, the roller bearing for each han er comprises two wheels 9 9 that are fixe to the opposite ends of a shaft g which extends transversely through a suitable bearing aperture in the hanger. Preferably the hanger is of such construction as to afford between the same and said shaft, seats for antifriction balls g which reduces the rotative friction of said axles g in the hangers. Preferably said wheels g may be made with beveled or inclined peripheries'to adapt the same to the cylindric inner wall of the rail. They also are desirably made of a non-resonant material so as to minimize the noise incident to the wheels rolling along the rails. This form of rail is advantageous for the reason that it possesses great strength, b reason of its cir- Furt ermore, the rail constitutes a complete housing for the bearing members of the carriage thereby not only protecting said bearing members of the carriagefrom dust and dirt, but also avoiding the liability of the same passing over the arm of the crane or bracket.

hand of a person who might grasp the rail during the use of the apparatus.

Any suitable means may be employed for fa tening this form of rail to the horizontal As herein shown, the said rail is fastened at its ends to said arm by means of plugs H H entering the ends of the rail, and said plugs are formed to provide flanges h 72 having apertures through which extend suitable fastening bolts or screws to fix the same to the underside of the horizontal arm of the crane. An intermediate support consisting of a suitable clasp ll partially encircling the tubular rail and likewise having a flange 7L2 may be provided for supporting the rail intermediate its ends. The plugs of the end supporting devices are provided with lugs 7L that enter the slot of the rail, whereby said rail is held from rotating.

The conductor wires J, if the engine be an electric motor, or the air pipes, if it be a pneumatic motor, may be disposed in any suitable manner, such as will not limit the application of the tool. As herein shown,

said conductor wires lead from a socket j.

which may be fixed in the support E, and from thenco said wires are trained through suitable guide eyes along the horizontal arm of the crane and thence downwardly to the engine.

J-Qeclaim as our invention:

1. The combination with an overhead support, an engine supported therefrom provided with a tool connected with and driven from said engine, of a holder in which said engine is swingingly mounted, said engine being eccentrically loaded with respect to its swinging connection with the holder, whereby when released from manual control it'assunies a position to direct the tool upardlv.

) 2. The combination with an overhead upport'a-nd an engine and its tool suspended therefrom, of a holder in which said engine is swingingly mounted, a cable for suspending the holder from said overhead support, said engine being eccentrically loaded with re.-

spect to its swinging connection with the holder whereby, when released from manual control, itassumes a position to direct the tool upwardly.

3. The combination with an overhead support and an engine and its directly driven tool, of a holder in which said engine is mounted comprising yoke arms extending on opposite sides of the engine casing, lugs eX- tending from said engine casing and engaging bearing apertures in said yoke arms, and means for flexibly suspending said holder from the overhead support, said motor being eccentrically loaded whereby, upon release from manual control, it automatically assumes a position to direct the tool upwardly.

4. The combination with a tool holder and means for flexibly sustaining it from an overhead support, of an engine and its directly driven tool swingingly mounted in said holder, a housing creasing fixed to the holder, the motor being overweighted on the side thereof opposite to the tool relatively to the swinging axis whereby the engine is automatically swung to a position to move the tool into said housing wnen the engine is released from manual control.

5. The combination with an engine and its directly driven tool, of a holder in which said engine is swingingly mounted,- means for flexibly sustaining the holder from an overhead support, said engine being eccentrically loaded whereby, when released from manual control, it assumes a position to swing the tool upwardly, and the holder being formed to provide a protecting housing into which said tool is swung.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our invention we aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 11th day of August A. D. 1906.

CHARLES T. WILT. v ELMER WELT. Witnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, Toners H. ALFnEns. 

